# Remote and Hybrid Work are Here to Stay as Cyberattacks Escalate
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2021-10-11
Category: TECHNOLOGY
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/technology
Meta Title: Remote and Hybrid Work Cyberthreats: What You Need to Know
Meta Description: Learn about the increasing cyberthreats faced by businesses due to remote and hybrid work, and how to mitigate these risks effectively.
URL: https://financedigest.com/remote-and-hybrid-work-are-here-to-stay-as-cyberattacks-escalatehtml

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_By_ **_David Cummins,_** _VP of EMEA, Tenable_

_David Cummins discusses the rising cyberthreat that businesses face from the ‘new-normal’ of remote and hybrid work following new research conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Tenable._

In September 2021, the U.K. government [announced](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/millions-to-be-empowered-by-government-plans-to-strengthen-day-one-employment-rights-and-increase-productivity-of-businesses) plans that will grant all employees the right to request flexible working from their first day of work.  This cements the obligation organisations have to permanently adopt hybrid and [remote working](https://www.financedigest.com/7-tips-for-building-a-positive-remote-work-culture.html "7 tips for building a positive remote work culture"). This new world of work, however, introduces new, and largely unmanaged, cyber risk, creating a dispersed and attractive attack surface for threat actors to exploit. Here’s what you [need to know](https://www.financedigest.com/g20-summit-what-you-need-to-know-now.html "G20 Summit: What you need to know now").

In the 18 [months since](https://www.financedigest.com/uk-factories-suffer-worst-month-since-may-2020-as-economy-stumbles-pmi.html "UK factories suffer worst month since May 2020 as economy stumbles – PMI") work-from-home mandates were enacted as a result of the pandemic, many U.K. organizations have shifted to long-term [hybrid and remote work models](https://www.financedigest.com/how-collaboration-technologies-are-helping-organisations-to-embrace-a-hybrid-working-model.html "How collaboration technologies are helping organisations to embrace a hybrid working model"). The upcoming law change will mean more people are likely to opt to work from home, as the waiting period to request [flexible work](https://www.financedigest.com/the-flexible-working-revolution-is-here-so-why-arent-you-tracking-expenses-on-the-go.html "‘The flexible working revolution is here – so why aren’t you tracking expenses on the go?’") after six months in a role disappears. As the home network morphs into the corporate network,  greater [risks of cyberattacks and business impacts](https://www.financedigest.com/russia-could-hike-rates-in-2023-if-inflation-risks-have-big-impact-cenbank.html "Russia could hike rates in 2023 if inflation risks have big impact -cenbank") are imminent.

At present, 70% of U.K. organizations have employees [working remotely](https://www.financedigest.com/shoring-up-cyber-defences-in-the-remote-working-era.html "Shoring up cyber defences in the remote working era"), compared to 30% prior to the pandemic, with 86% either planning to adopt a remote working policy long-term or have already done so. This data is drawn from a study1, conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Tenable, that surveyed more than 1,300 security leaders, business executives, and remote employees worldwide. The study, [Beyond Boundaries: The Future of Cybersecurity in the New World of Work](https://www.tenable.com/analyst-research/forrester-cyber-risk-report-2021), was conducted in April 2021 and also included 168 respondents in the UK.

**Introducing a [hybrid working](https://www.financedigest.com/how-has-hybrid-working-impacted-the-gender-gap.html "How has hybrid working impacted the gender gap?") model is complex**

Switching to a flexible work model calls for three significant shifts, all of which serve to atomise the attack surface:

1. The removal of traditional [workplace perimeters given the introduction of technologies that allow employees](https://www.financedigest.com/norway-wealth-fund-employee-sues-for-workplace-gender-discrimination.html "Norway wealth fund employee sues for workplace gender discrimination") to work from anywhere.
2. The movement of business-critical functions to the cloud.
3. The vast expansion of the software [supply chain](https://www.financedigest.com/mcdonalds-milkshakes-off-the-british-menu-after-supply-chain-issues-2.html "McDonald’s milkshakes off the British menu after supply chain issues") and implementation of new tools for enhanced collaboration, communication and productivity.

These new working practices have caused the corporate attack surface to explode, with many organizations left struggling to process and address the new risks introduced.

A hybrid worker could be in the office one [day and the next they could connect remotely via home](https://www.financedigest.com/man-charged-under-britains-treason-act-over-christmas-day-incident-at-queens-home.html "Man charged under Britain’s Treason Act over Christmas Day incident at queen’s home") routers or Wi-Fi hotspots in third workspaces, such as coffee shops or hotels. The study also found that 33% of U.K. security leaders have high or complete visibility into personal devices [remote employees may be using for work](https://www.financedigest.com/how-to-protect-your-employees-mental-health-while-remote-working.html "How to protect your employees’ mental health while remote working").

In the aftermath of the pandemic and its ongoing effects, 46% of U.K. organizations transitioned business-critical functions to the cloud to enable accessibility from [home — this included accounting and finance](https://www.financedigest.com/g20-watchdog-homes-in-on-decentralised-finance-after-ftx-crash.html "G20 watchdog homes in on decentralised finance after FTX crash") (42%) and human resources (33%). When asked about the increased risks, 80% of U.K. respondents believe their organization is more exposed as a result of moving business-critical functions to cloud systems. Just as concerning, 58% of U.K. respondents attributed at least one business-impacting cyberattack2 to a third-party software vendor compromise within the last year.

[Despite the rising](https://www.financedigest.com/soccer-european-revenues-rise-10-in-2020-21-despite-covid.html "Soccer-European revenues rise 10% in 2020-21 despite COVID") popularity and acceptance of remote working, half (51%) of U.K. security and business leaders feel they are not well equipped or prepared to support the new world of [work](https://www.financedigest.com/combating-the-security-risk-of-remote-working.html "Combating the security risk of remote working ") securely.

**Attackers are taking advantage**

The concern from business executives is certainly understandable based on the evidence. The research found that 90% of U.K. organizations experienced a business-impacting cyberattack in the last year, with 51% falling victim to three or more. When focusing on the root of these attacks:

-   72% resulted from vulnerabilities in systems and/or applications put in place in response to the pandemic
-     68% targeted remote [workers or those working](https://www.financedigest.com/1-in-5-uk-workers-believe-there-is-a-gender-divide-with-work-uniforms.html " 1 in 5 UK workers believe there is a gender divide with work uniforms") from home
-     63% involved an unmanaged personal device used in a [remote work](https://www.financedigest.com/the-psychology-of-long-term-remote-working-productivity-vs-inclusivity.html "The psychology of long-term remote working: Productivity vs. Inclusivity") environment
-     51% resulted from VPN flaws or misconfigurations
-     51% involved cloud assets

**We need to** [change the way we think about risk](https://www.financedigest.com/financial-risks-of-climate-change-overplayed-senior-hsbc-banker-says.html "Financial risks of climate change overplayed, senior HSBC banker says")

This change has highlighted that cyber risk is a business risk, and as such should be viewed and prioritised as other [threats facing the organisation](https://www.financedigest.com/cyber-threats-for-finance-organisations-to-watch-in-2023.html "Cyber threats for finance organisations to watch in 2023").

One benefit, if we can call it such, to come from hybrid [work models and a digital-first economy is that together they have catapulted cybersecurity to the forefront of organisational](https://www.financedigest.com/uk-based-bitfount-raises-5m-seed-to-streamline-collaboration-between-organisations-working-with-sensitive-datasets.html "UK-based Bitfount raises M seed to streamline collaboration between organisations working with sensitive datasets.") concerns and priorities. Security now warrants the necessary investment in order to ensure [protection to employees](https://www.financedigest.com/protecting-the-finance-team-from-burnout-to-drive-employee-retention.html "Protecting the finance team from burnout to drive employee retention"), customers and entire organisations. It’s comforting, then, to know that, to address the issue, 75% of U.K. security leaders plan to increase their [network security](https://www.financedigest.com/new-demands-on-network-security.html "NEW DEMANDS ON NETWORK SECURITY") investments over the next 12 to 24months — with 73% planning to increase spend on cloud security, while 66% plan to spend more on vulnerability management.

The new mode of working has caused ripple [effects in the corporate network](https://www.financedigest.com/how-can-network-operators-monetise-television-quickly-and-effectively.html "How can network operators monetise television quickly and effectively?"), causing a move from perimeter-based security architectures. Businesses require visibility into the entirety of the attack surface to be able to [manage and measure cyber risk](https://www.financedigest.com/aon-announces-agreement-to-acquire-risk-management-firm-creating-a-comprehensive-cyber-risk-management-advisory-group.html "Aon announces agreement to acquire risk management firm, creating a comprehensive cyber risk management advisory group") across operational technology (OT) and IT systems on a single platform on-premises and in the cloud. Jointly, they need to determine where vulnerabilities exist in this way and the potential impact if exploited.

In tandem, another key focus is Active Directory, developed by Microsoft for Windows domain networks that helps organise a company’s users, computers and more. Given the disbanding of traditional perimeters, the configuration and management of user access is more important than ever. Building user risk profiles based on changing conditions, behaviours or locations, means that the [organisation can continuously monitor and verify every attempt to access data](https://www.financedigest.com/tackling-the-complexity-of-data-within-financial-organisations.html "Tackling the complexity of data within financial organisations") before granting or revoking the request. This provides the [security team with clear visibility of their entire threat](https://www.financedigest.com/russian-threat-to-baltic-security-rising-estonian-intelligence-report.html "Russian threat to Baltic security rising – Estonian intelligence report") landscape, the intelligence to foresee which cyberthreats will have the greatest business impact and controls to address cyber risks.

If staff continue to treat cybersecurity as an afterthought and fail to stay up to date with business changes, threat actors will have a field day. It’s imperative that [organisations find ways to protect](https://www.financedigest.com/protect-your-organisation-from-fraud.html "Protect your organisation from fraud") sensitive data in the new world of work.

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- The data is drawn from [‘Beyond Boundaries: The Future of Cybersecurity in the New World of Work](https://www.tenable.com/analyst-research/forrester-cyber-risk-report-2021),’ a commissioned study of more than 1,300 security leaders, business executives and remote employees, including 168 respondents in the U.K., conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Tenable

- A business-impacting cyberattack is one which results in one or more of the following outcomes: loss of customer, employee, or other confidential data; interruption of day-to-day operations; ransomware payout; financial loss or theft; and/or theft of intellectual property


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